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Good morning! The weather is still gray, rainy and mild. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in New York City today with no announced public schedule. Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy is in Buffalo today, where he’ll help break ground on the Queen City’s outer harbor. Senate hopeful Wendy Long is in Watertown, and will call in to various radio programs. There’s also a press conference planned about the health impacts of hydrofracking. Here are this morning’s headlines…

Carla Marinucci and Joe Garofoli: The former Massachusetts governor delivered a confident, often aggressive and energetic performance. It was among the best of his campaign and in clear contrast to the president, whose delivery was more muted, measured and, at times, meandering. (SF Chron)

Rick Dunham: A former Clinton adviser, James Carville, said the debate had breathed new life into Romney’s troubled campaign.//“What happened tonight will play out clearly throughout the weekend and into the next debate,” he said Wednesday night.//Other prominent Democrats downplayed the debate, pointing to the lack of a major gaffe on the incumbent’s part.//“Romney needed a game changer,” San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, the Democratic National Convention keynote speaker, declared via Twitter. “Obama easily won, since Romney didn’t land any blows. Nothing changed the dynamic of the race.”//But nonpartisan commentators seemed to agree with former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove, who tweeted, “One guy was presidential, focused, passionate any funny. The other guy was churlish, irritated and defensive.” (Hearst)

Raymond Hernandez:Only a few months ago, Democrats faced big hurdles in New York, with districts once deemed safe suddenly becoming vulnerable, largely because of new Congressional maps. Now, the same Democratic incumbents are showing resilience, while Republican lawmakers face stiff re-election challenges, according to independent political analysts and officials in both parties. (NYT)

The Gillibrand diet: On the advice of a nutritionist, Gillibrand revamped her mealtime habits. Fruits, vegetables, and lean meats were in; carbs and fried foods were out. She and her sister, who was also on a weight-loss program, wrote down everything they ate. “We shared food journals and encouraged each other.” She also discovered her weakness — kiddie food. “It’s killer,” she groans. “Every time you make something delicious like mac and cheese, it’s hard not to take a bite.”//Before entering politics, Gillibrand worked as a high-powered defense attorney. To keep motivated as she shed weight, she emptied her closet of power suits and donated them to Dress for Success, a nonprofit that helps disadvantaged women land jobs and provides them with confidence-boosting outfits. And she promised herself that if she ever got back to her old size, she’d reward herself with new clothes.//It took almost a year and a half, but Gillibrand dropped more than 40 pounds. (Whole Living)

Reid Pillifant on Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s latest play: Schneiderman’s ongoing investigation into the mortgage industry stands to be the kind of career-making move that made Eliot Spitzer a household name, and it’s the first case brought under the aegis of the federal task force assembled by President Obama earlier this year and co-chaired by Schneiderman.//The case was brought by his office under New York’s Martin Act, but the press conference was held in Washington, D.C.//This last part is key. Schneiderman has carved out a niche in Washington, where his far-reaching powers as New York’s attorney general, combined with his responsibility to a left-leaning electorate, have made him a progressive champion for taking up neglected issues like campaign finance, and for nudging the administration to the left on how to settle claims related to the mortgage crisis.//Washington, not coincidentally, is also a place Schneiderman can operate without setting foot on any of the turf claimed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, who for now strictly avoids anything that might look like national posturing. (CapNY)

Albany Medical Center, UAlbany and RPI signed a memorandum outlining their new research cooperative. (Innovation Trail)

“I’ll tell you what. Monday is Columbus Day, I usually cook something,” Frank Seddio, the newly-elected Chairman of the Kings County Democratic Party said to begin our conversation in his Canarsie law office earlier today. “I’ll make you some eggplant parmesan. No reporters, just come as a person. Eggplant parmesan. I’m making a real special Sicilian dish that’s called ‘pasta con le sarde.’ It’s macaroni with sardines and it tastes ten times better than it sounds!” (Politicker)

“I learned a long way that the best way to a person’s heart is food,” he says. “I had the pleasure this week of going over to a lot of the local political clubs. I always bring something with me and I brought some good cannolis with me. How can you be mad at someone who brings cannolis?”(C&S)

Seddio replaced Vito Lopez as Brooklyn Democratic chairman. Lopez is on track to cruise to re-election to the Assembly. (WSJ)

Sen. Tim Kennedy and Betty Jean Grant will be back in court Friday for another lingering challenge to the primary election. (TU)

The Times Union: The toll increase that was supposed to kick in as early as Monday didn’t take effect.//Too bad the Thruway Authority couldn’t be bothered to officially tell everyone that, or let the public in on why it was apparently waffling over what months ago it had decreed to be a done deal. What happened to those essential qualities of good government, transparency and accountability?//It’s tempting to confront such arrogance with a bold declaration of at least a temporary victory. How nice it would be to think that the Thruway Authority has backed down in the face of loud and persistent opposition to a toll increase much too big to justify, especially in a still-struggling economy. (TU)

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Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.